


Birthday Wishes

by ssa_archivist



Series: Movement [3]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-02-09
Updated: 2002-02-09
Packaged: 2017-11-01 05:50:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/352722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lex takes Clark to Metropolis for his birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Wishes

## Birthday Wishes

by Jade

[]()

* * *

Disclaimer: They're not mine. 

Series: This is a sequel to Family Traditions. You should read that first along with Movement, the first story. 

Acknowledgement: As always, a big thank you to Cristina for her beta. 

* * *

"I beat you again," Clark cries out triumphantly and turns to look at me. He's smiling brightly so I know that he isn't really trying to make me feel like an idiot even though he is. 

"Only because there's something wrong with my car," I tell him moodily. 

"We switched cars earlier," Clark reminds me. "There's nothing wrong with either of them." 

"It's that corner," I tell him. "I keep crashing on that damned corner. I hate it." 

"And I've explained to you, you're using too much power on the loop. You need to give it a slight burst of speed just as you go into the loop and then let off. Otherwise, you're going too fast as you come out and then you crash on the corner. Come on, Lex you have a science degree, you should understand that." 

"Engineering," I return. 

"Whatever," Clark says with a shrug. He grabs both of our cars and places them back at the start line then resets the lap counter. 

"Engineering," I say again. "There's a big difference." 

"If you say so." Clark shrugs again. "They still teach you all that physics stuff, don't they?" 

"Yeah, they teach the 'physics stuff'," I grouse. "They just don't teach us how to play toy cars with our teenaged lovers." I know as soon as it's out of my mouth that it's the wrong thing to say but I can't take it back. 

Clark looks at me intently from where he's sitting. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to," he says and I can hear the edge in his voice that means I'm reaching the end of his patience. "After all, you were the one who called me up and challenged me to a race." 

"I didn't know it would be so difficult." I know I sound angry and annoyed. 

Clark continues to look at me. After a minute, his face breaks out in an ironic grin. "You're a sore loser, Lex Luthor," he accuses me. 

"So?" I challenge. 

"So, it's not a very attractive quality." 

"Well I'm used to winning so I usually don't have to worry about it," I reason. 

"I'm sure you are," Clark agrees, "but you have to remember that I've been doing this since I was a kid. You just need to practice and then I'm sure you'll give me a real run for my money." 

I sigh heavily. He's right. I reach up and run my hand over my head. It's a dead give away as to how awkward I feel. I feel so incompetent, not being able to do something that any eight year old can. It's no reason to take it out on him though, I realize. He's just trying to have some fun with me. "I'm sorry I'm such an asshole," I tell him after a moment. 

"It's okay," Clark assures me. He's so accepting, so easy going. I wonder what it would take to make him really mad at me. Before I met him, I probably would have tried to push him to that, see what it took and then use that knowledge to my own advantage. I don't want to manipulate Clark, though. He is different from the other people in my life. He's a real person to me, not fake like most everyone else. They are who they think I want them to be or who I can manipulate them into being and nothing more. They mean nothing to me. Clark means more than anyone has in years. 

I watch him stand up and wonder where he's going. "You practice, I'm going to go get a coke from the fridge. You want one?" 

"Sure. In a glass. You know how much I hate that can taste." 

Clark gives me look that tells me he never had any intention of bringing it to me any other way and then nods. He leaves the room and I turn back to the car track set up in front of me. It's a fairly simple circuit, or so Clark tells me. It probably is since most of the pieces are still in the box across the room. It consists of a long stretch of straight track, two circular areas of track on raised ramps, a couple other corners and then of course, my nemesis, the loop. If Clark's right, it shouldn't be too difficult. I just need to figure out the right amount of acceleration needed to take the car through the loop and then around the corner almost immediately following it without crashing. Shit, it's a goddamned children's toy. Why is it so difficult? 

I pick up the controller again and with a steadying sigh, start my car traveling around the track. I drive it slowly out of the corner before the loop and then guide the car into the loop with less power than I have previously. The car travels up the one side of the loop, reaches the top and then falls directly to the ground. I swear and then reach over the track to retrieve the car. Okay, more power. I reset the car on the track and start again. This time I use more power from the start, driving faster out of the corner and into the loop. The car travels through the loop easily, but I can tell it picks up too much speed on the down side. It shoots out, hits the far corner and goes tumbling off the track. I need to get up this time to retrieve the car. Okay, so I need to be somewhere between those two extremes, I knew that already. It's just getting it right that's the problem. One more time, I place the car on the plastic track. I have the car travel at a moderate pace around the track leading up to the loop and then around the first corner. As I approach the loop, I briefly give it a little more power. The car races through the loop, slower this time than before but not slow enough to fall off at the top, and then comes out and heads towards the second corner. I smile as it slides smoothly around the corner. "Yes," I cheer. I bring the car around the circuit, through the loop and then around the corner once more. My face feels like it might split, I'm grinning so hard. 

"Cool," Clark says from behind me. He startles me and I jump. My hand jerks and I give the car too much power. It crashes. I turn to look at him with that same smile on my face. 

"I did it," I tell him proudly. 

"You did," Clark agrees. He hands me my glass of coke and folds himself down to sit next to me. His knee bumps mine and my drink sloshes around the glass, but doesn't spill. 

"Thanks," I say and take a drink. "Could you grab that for me?" I ask him and point to the car that's sitting within his reach. He nods, picks up the car and then passes it to me. "Want to try again?" 

"Sure," Clark tells me with a grin. He sets his can of coke down on the table behind him and reaches for my glass so that he had safely place it on the table as well. I take another drink and then pass it over to him. 

"Ready?" he asks me after a moment of settling himself more comfortably next to me. He's sitting so close to me that he's almost right in my lap. I should feel crowded but I don't. In fact, I realize, I would probably feel worse if he wasn't sitting so close to me. It's nice to have him here with me just goofing around and having fun. 

"Yes," I say and nod. 

"Five laps?" 

I nod. 

"Okay," Clark says. We're both waiting for him to start the race. "Ready. Go." 

We both start our cars around the track. Clark beats me off the start and leads me for the first two laps around the track. I'm just happy that I actually keep the car from crashing. On the third lap, I creep up on Clark in the straight stretch and start to pass him but I'm traveling too fast and as we move into the corner, my car slides off the track. It hits Clark's and takes his off the track on his side as well. We both scramble to right our cars. I manage to do it faster and pull out ahead of Clark. I laugh happily. I'm finally leading and my confidence in my ability is growing. 

"Go Lex," Clark says and laughs along with me. 

I want to look at him, but I force myself to focus on the track. We pass the start line and our cars come around the corner before the loops. I slow down a little more than necessary, but not enough to make my car fall off the track, and Clark pulls ahead of me again. I concentrate on what I'm doing and manage to pull up next to him in the straight stretch again. We're traveling right next to each other as we again cross the start line and start the fifth lap. I decide to be less cautious than last time and head into the loop with slightly more speed than I successfully have before. It's a risk. If it works, I'll probably win, if it doesn't, well, it won't be the first time I've lost today. 

It works. I speed out of the loop ahead of Clark and make it around the corner with no difficulty. I grin and Clark laughs happily beside me. He's happy that I'm getting this. He's happy that I'm happy. I have enough speed that Clark doesn't quite catch up to me before we cross the finish line. 

"I won," I say. My voice is full of surprise, happiness and pride. 

"You did," Clark confirms and turns to glow happily at me. "Congratulations, Lex. Today you qualify to be ten." He leans over and wraps his arms around me. 

I push him away from me and look at him sharply, thinking he might be making fun of me, but he's just smiling happily. I see only love and caring in his face. "Imp," I accuse and draw him back in to kiss him gently. 

Clark giggles, actually giggles. Like a little girl. It's infectious. I wrap my arms all the way around him and find myself laughing with him. 

We're holding each other, just smiling and laughing softly, when Clark reaches out and starts to tickle me. I cry out in protest and try to pull away from him, but he's stronger than me and holds me in place. I decide that if I can't get away, I better fight back and I reach out to tickle him back. We tumble over onto the floor, tickling each other and laughing. We're both distracted, rolling around on the floor, and neither of us is paying too much attention to where exactly the furniture is. We roll towards the low table where Clark has put our drinks. I tickle Clark hard under the ribs. He cries out a laughing protest and throws his head back. I hear it crack hard against the table behind us. 

Clark doesn't make any sound, doesn't even seem to notice how hard he's hit his head, but I sit up sharply to make sure he's okay. He's still lying on the floor and looking at me questioningly. A strange look crosses his face, like he realizes that I'm expecting him to say something. "Oww," he says quickly but the emotion behind the words is thin. Clark's not a very good actor. 

"Shit, Clark," I say. "Do you have a lead head or something?" I move towards him to inspect his head. Clark pulls away from me but I pin him to the spot with a look. It's my 'don't mess with me' look and although I know that Clark is more than strong enough physically to get away from me if he wanted to, I don't think he has the emotional strength to disobey that look. 

It turns out that I'm right and Clark holds still while I lean forward to look at his head. I expect to find a cut and at least a little blood. If it had been my head hitting the table with that much force, I would likely need stitches right now. What I do find is nothing. I run my hands gently through his hair, pulling it back to look at his scalp, but it all looks intact. No cuts, no bleeding. I press on it gently to see if he has any bruising. He makes no sounds. "Does this hurt?" I eventually ask him and press around the spot I suspect he hit. 

"Umm, yeah. Oww," Clark says but once again it's flat. Clark's also not a very good liar. I know he doesn't feel a thing beyond me pressing my fingers into his scalp. Shit, what does that mean? 

Memories of strange incidences involving Clark flood into my mind. Clark standing on the bridge right before I crashed. I was so sure I had hit him and now I think I may be right. My car, it's roof ripped off in a way that just couldn't be explained by any of the factors involved in the accident. The overwhelming strength Clark seemed to possess. The speed at which he arrived at my house that night after the accident at the plant. And now this, the fact that cracking his head hard against the table didn't seem to hurt Clark in the slightest. He's hiding something, and doing a fairly bad job of it overall. 

I'm conflicted. Normally I would investigate something like this, follow it and work it until I had wrung every little secret out of it, until I had twisted it into something I could use for my own gain or protection. But this is Clark. He loves me. He trusts me. But he's still lying to me about this and that's what my brain can't seem to get past. If what Clark seems to represent is true, then why would he need to keep secrets from me? 

"Lex?" Clark asks quietly and I realize I have retreated into my mind. This is a moral dilemma for some other time, preferably when I'm alone and can concentrate. 

"I think you're going to live, Clark," I tell him, my words strangely distant. I pat him on the shoulder and then stand up. I grab my glass of the table, drink and then compulsively turn the cup in my hand. Clark is watching me from the floor. After a moment, I turn and head from the room. 

"Where you going?" he calls after me. 

"I'm going to get something to eat. Do you want anything?" I say. It's lunchtime, I'm hungry, we both need to eat and it will keep my mind off Clark's little incident in the study. What I really want is to be alone, but sending Clark off now would let him know how distressed I'm feeling. 

"Oh, okay," Clark says and I can hear him stand up to follow me. 

We walk to the kitchen. When we get there I move towards the fridge to check and see what's been left for lunch. Normally Mary, my cook, would be here, but I've sent her into the city to pick up some horribly exotic groceries that I don't particularly need. It didn't take me long to figure out that having the servants around tends to make Clark uncomfortable, so if I know he'll be coming in advance, I usually try and send as many of them out of the house as possible. Hence Mary's unnecessary errand into Metropolis. 

In the fridge Mary's left chicken sandwiches, supposedly made from the leftovers of last night's dinner. There's four, enough for both Clark and I, and I realize that Mary is onto me. She knows that her being sent out for something ridiculous is really code for 'Clark is coming over, get out'. It makes me thankful that I don't hire local people for the house. The last thing either of us need is for people in town to talk about how often they need to perform strange out of town errands. 

"Chicken sandwiches," I tell Clark as I pull the plate from the fridge. 

"Mary leave them?" 

"Must have," I tell him and Clark nods. 

We grab a couple of plates from the cupboard and transfer the sandwiches onto them. I have one, Clark has two others and we place the fourth back into the fridge. Clark will probably end up grabbing it later. I'm sure that's what it was left for anyhow. Mary knows very well that I would only ever eat one, so the other three must have been intended for Clark. We walk to the kitchen table and sit down with them. I usually eat at the dining room table, but once again, that makes Clark uncomfortable so when he's here we eat in the kitchen. Not for the first time I realize that I make a lot of compromises for Clark, compromises that I wouldn't make for other people, and it makes me question how much I would be willing to give up for him if I ever needed to draw a line. 

"These are good," Clark says after he takes a bite of his sandwich. 

"I'll let Mary know you said so," I tell him and continue to eat my own sandwich. 

"You're in a strange mood all the sudden," Clark observes after a few minutes of silent eating. 

"I'm just thinking," I tell him. 

"Oh?" 

"It's your birthday later this month," I observe. I'm trying to change the subject but I did have every intention of speaking to him about this today. I want to figure out what he wants to do and see if I can arrange some way for us to get out of town and be alone for a while. 

"Yep," Clark agrees and continues eating. 

"Aren't you excited?" I ask him. I'm surprised that he seems so blas about it. 

Clark stops eating and puts down his sandwich. He looks at me seriously. "If I have a party, you'll come right?" 

"Have you spoken to your parents about that?" I ask him. If the decision were only up to me I would come with no problems at all, but ultimately how his parent's feel about this is going to be more important than what I want. 

"I mentioned it to my mother. She didn't seem to think it would be a problem but she did say that I would need to talk to my father. My parents know we're friends, I spend as much time here as at any of my other friend's houses, and my father's opinion of you is slowly changing." 

"Oh?" I ask with an ironic smile, "so he doesn't think I have horns anymore?" 

"Well, maybe just little ones," Clark laughs, "and probably removable at that." 

I find myself laughing with him. I hate to admit it, but it had come as a relief when Clark's father had seemed to warm up to me somewhat around Christmas time. I am still worried about what will happen when he eventually finds out what Clark and I are doing together but maybe he won't kill me outright if he thinks I'm at least somewhat reputable. 

"I'll come if it's okay with him but I don't want you fighting over it. It's not worth that," I tell Clark. I would like to be with him on his birthday, but it's true that it's not worth a fight between him and his father for me to be allowed to attend. 

The look on Clark's face indicates that he disagrees with me over whether or not it's worth a fight but he eventually gives in and nods his acceptance. "Okay," he tells me. 

"Regardless, you should do something with your friends. It's your birthday, they'll want to be with you." 

"I know." 

"You're turning sixteen. It's a special day for most people." 

"Yeah, I know. I'm happy. It will be better for us but all I want is to be with you. Sometimes I just really wish we could be honest about our relationship," Clark tells me. He sounds like it's paining him to say that, like he's worried that the words will scare me off. 

They won't. I feel the same way for a couple of reasons. First I don't want to have to feel like I'm embarrassed of being with Clark and second it's just easier to conduct a relationship when it's not a big secret. "I know," I tell him. "And someday I would like to discuss that with you but it's still at least a little ways into the future for us. When you're really ready to tell people, we'll talk about it." 

"I'm ready," Clark says. 

"I don't think you really are, Clark," I tell him with a shake of my head. "Are you ready to have people calling you a fag at school, looking at you strangely, talking behind your back or avoiding you in the locker room? Are you ready to have people saying awful disgusting things to your parents about you and their ability to raise you properly?" I know that what I'm saying is more than a little bit shocking, but it's the reality of our situation. People will think those things about us regardless of what we do and Clark will have to deal with at least a bit of harassment. He's a big guy, and some people will be deterred by that, but the real assholes, or the people who know him enough not to be physically threatened by him won't. 

Clark goes pale. He's looking down at the table. I can tell that he hadn't really thought about all that. He just thought that if he was old enough and he cared about me enough and his parents knew then the rest of the world would kind of go away and leave us alone. "I... I guess not," he stammers after a moment of reflection. 

I sigh. "I don't think anyone is, Clark. I've always lived in the public eye and I just learned to ignore all those things people say, but I don't think you are ever really okay with it. To tell you the truth it's been nice to live in Smallville these last few months because no matter what people might think about my father and therefore project onto me, they don't know a whole lot about my life and that keeps the truly nasty comments to a minimum." 

Clark's eyes flick up to regard me. "You kind of have a rep, hey?" 

"Yeah, I kind of do," I tell him with a small smile. 

"Not good, hey?" 

"No." 

"Oh." 

"Yeah." 

"Want to tell me about it?" Clark asks. 

"I think you know most of it already," I tell him and laugh ironically. I kind of let most of that part of my life slip over Christmas. 

"Oh?" 

"Yeah. Let's see," I say and hold up my hand to tick the points off my fingers. "Drugs. Alcohol. Clubs. Sex. Boys. Yeah, I think those are the main ones." 

"Clubs?" Clark asks me. 

"You're too young," I tell him seriously. 

"Oh, but I'm old enough for drugs, alcohol, sex and boys?" Clark asks me sarcastically and copies my ticking off action. 

"You're too young," I tell him again with the same level of seriousness in my voice. There are some things that I'm just not quite prepared to talk to a fifteen year old about, no matter how many other things I may be willing to do with him. The things I did in some of those clubs definitely fit into that category. When he's old enough, I'll tell him about it, but not until then. 

"Oh," Clark says quietly and looks down again. Then, in a small voice, "I have a good idea about the sorts of things that people do to each other, Lex." 

"Clark," I say warningly. I want him to let me protect him from this part of my life. He really doesn't need to know the details. I don't plan on ever doing any of it again and especially not with him. 

"Okay," he sighs and I can tell that he's given in although he's not too happy about it. 

That's good enough for now. "To get back to the original point, Clark, I would like to be able to be open about this as well, but right now it's not possible so we shouldn't think about it too much." 

"I know," he says softly. Once again, resigned to this reality. 

"Hey," I say and Clark looks back up to meet my eyes, "have you thought about what you want for your birthday?" 

Clark snorts. "You know you're not supposed to give me things, Lex." 

"I know," I tell him. "I'm not supposed to give you things but your parents did let me give you tickets to that concert in Metropolis and I was wondering if maybe they would let me do something similar this time as well." 

"You know, my dad still wasn't very happy about that either, especially when he figured out that you were just trying to get rid of me so that you could speak to them about the farm," Clark tells me. He doesn't sound angry with me, just kind of amused. I suspect that in a way he likes the idea that I wanted to help his parents even if he doesn't like the way I wanted to do it. "And besides, I don't want to go anywhere unless you're coming too." 

"That's kind of the point, imp," I tell him with a laugh. 

"Oh," he says quietly. "Just for the night?" 

"I'd want to stay in town overnight," I tell him and look at him suggestively. 

"Oh," he says again and blushes. I know he's thinking about the kinds of things we could do if we were truly alone for the entire night. 

Oh indeed, Clark. 

"Where would we stay?" 

"Luthor Corp has a penthouse at Hotel Metropolis, we can stay there." 

"I don't know if my parents will let me go, but I can ask them." Clark tells me. "What would you want to go see?" 

"There's a basketball game the Saturday after your birthday, I thought we could go then." 

"Isn't that game sold out?" Clark asks me but then answers his own questions before I can speak. "Oh, wait, let me guess. Luthor Corp has tickets?" 

I nod. "A box actually. I already called and made sure that no one else is using it that night." Actually I called and told the people who were supposed to be using it that I needed it. They were some business associates of my father, no one too important though. I had gotten them some scalped courtside tickets instead and they hadn't seemed too put out. 

"Cool," Clark says. He sounds quite excited. "I've never actually been to a game before. Even the cheap seats are expensive and my parents never seem to be going into the city at the right time anyhow." 

"Well good, I hope you enjoy it." 

"I just need to get my parents to say yes." 

"I'm sure you'll be able to convince them," I tell him. I really hope he'll be able to. Clark is convinced that his father is warming to me and I'm pretty sure that his mother likes me. Hopefully that will be enough because I really want to have Clark to myself for at least one night. 

"Hope so." 

I nod and point towards his plate. I have a goofy grin on my face again and he's looking at me strangely. "Finish eating so I can kick your ass again," I tell him. 

He smiles, nods and continues eating. "Don't you wish," he says around a mouthful of food. 

* * *

I awake to the loud ringing of my alarm clock. I roll over, shut it off and check the time. It's seven. Earlier than my usual wake up time of eight but just the right time to catch my young lover before he heads out to school. I grab the phone off the nightstand where I left it before falling sleep and hit the speed dial button for his number. 

The phone on the other end of the line rings twice before it's picked up. "Hello?" Clark says. He seems to be in the middle of laughing about something. I can only wonder what it is. 

"Happy Birthday, Clark," I greet him happily. This is the day we've been waiting for, the day when everything becomes easier for us. Well maybe not so much easier as legal. Legal is good, legal means I won't have my ass hauled off to jail if his father finds us making out in the barn. Instead I'll probably just get my ass kicked, which is only marginally better, but at least not permanent. 

"Thanks," Clark says. I can hear the smile behind his words. He's just as happy about this as I am. "What are you doing?" he asks me. He knows that I don't willingly get out of my warm bed before eight so he must be wondering why I'm calling him so early in the morning. 

"I'm in bed," I tell him. 

"Oh?" 

"Naked and thinking of you," I continue with a wicked grin on my face. 

"Lex," Clark hisses at me. I can well imagine the blush on his face. I wonder if anyone else at his house can see it. I bet his parents are in the room with him. 

"Well it's true," I laugh. 

"I shouldn't have asked," Clark says with a sigh. I know he's shaking his head in disbelief at my boldness. 

"That's a life lesson, Clark," I tell him. "Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to." 

I run my hand over my chest and imagine that Clark's here in the bed with me. I so wish we were able to have that. Me, the man who never even allowed his lovers into his own bed before, I'm wishing Clark could spend the night. That's how much he's changed me already. I know that should scare me and in some ways it does, but it's not the overwhelming fear that I've felt previously when people have deliberately tried to change me. It's more like the giddy fear that accompanies a new experience. I don't know who or what he's changing me into, but I can only hope that it's someone better than I am now. Someone with a better future than the one I apparently possess. 

Clark laughs loudly at my comment. The combination of the sound of his voice and my fingers running over my stomach makes me shiver. I move my hand down to lazily stroke my cock. "I...," he starts but is cut off by his father calling to him in the background. "Just a sec, Lex," he says. He must have moved the phone away from his mouth and muffled it against something because I can't hear what either of them is saying. 

"Hey," Clark says when he comes back on the phone a moment later. 

"Yes?" 

"I've got to go. My father needs my help with something before I take off to school," he explains. 

"Oh, okay," I tell him. I'm a little annoyed that he has to go so soon after I've gotten him on the phone. The fact that it's Clark's father pulling him away doesn't make me any happier about the situation. It's definitely broken my mood. Maybe that's for the best though; I really have no desire to get all excited if he's not here to take care of it for me. "Have fun at school today." 

"Sure," Clark agrees sarcastically. 

I laugh. Clark is actually much smarter than most people give him credit for. I've seen him do complex math in his head and quote a number of books that most teenagers haven't even heard of let alone read. I don't think he's even aware that he does it. The real problem is simply that the Smallville school system isn't challenging enough for him and so he ends up getting frustrated not really trying. It annoys me and we've talked about it briefly in the past. I don't want to become overbearing but it really is important for Clark to do well here so maybe it's just about time to have the conversation again. 

"Think of me?" I ask him. 

"Of course." 

"Naked?" 

"Lex," Clark protests with a small gasp of surprise. 

"Well?" 

"I will now." 

"Good," I tell him with a laugh. My mission here is complete. I've corrupted Clark's thoughts for the rest of the day. 

"You love causing trouble, don't you?" Clark asks with his own laugh. 

"Yeah." 

"I really do need to go," Clark tells me after another moment of laughter. I can hear his mother calling for him in the background. 

"Okay," I agree. "I'll see you tonight." 

"See you then," Clark says and hangs up the phone. 

* * *

I pull into the Kents' driveway just after nine in the evening. All the lights are off in the house and the only vehicles I can see around are Clark's truck and the tractor, both parked over near the barn. I sigh. I was supposed to be here over two hours ago but just as I was leaving my office, my father had called and demanded to speak with me. I had tried to put the call off but he wouldn't take no for an answer. 

The plant is no longer running in the red, which is something I'm truly happy about, but it still isn't making the type of profits my father would prefer. He doesn't seem to understand that these things take time, he just wants me to cut jobs and doesn't consider the fact that I have a completely viable long term plan here. So, I spent an hour defending my latest financial projections and my plans for future development. He picked apart everything I had written, challenged all my figures and made me run through my calculations with him but in the end he could find nothing wrong with my projections and had to admit that my plan had merit, even if he didn't like it on principle. 

I thought I would get rid of him after that, but that was not the case. He had made me fax him the entire file on the new fertilizer mixture I'm testing, including all the study data and analyses to date. All together it was well over two hundred pages of notes and data. Father had insisted he needed it all right away for an important meeting with some investors. 

I have a pretty good idea that wasn't the case at all. I know that my father knows that it's Clark's birthday today. The phone call and set of demands had nothing to do with business and everything to do with ruining whatever evening plans I had with Clark. I am determined not to let that happen though. 

I tried calling Clark's house while I was faxing my father the documents he demanded but I'd just gotten the answering machine. My message was probably still sitting there unheard. 

The Kents' plan had been to take Clark's friends out to dinner, bring them all back here about nine to watch a movie, and then have everyone home around eleven. It was school night after all, so none of the teens' parents wanted them coming home too late. Since they aren't home yet, I assume they're behind schedule. I know it's most likely because they had spent a lot of time waiting for me to show up. I can only hope that neither Clark nor his parents are too annoyed with me. 

It's another fifteen minutes before Clark, his parents and his friends arrive back at the farm. Clark's parents are in their truck, Clark, Chloe and Pete are traveling in Pete's car and Lana and Whitney are in Whitney's truck. Whitney's presence surprises me since I know Clark hadn't planned to invite him. I knew he'd invited Lana, the two of them had become friends over the last few months and he'd mentioned it to me last week, but Whitney must have been a last minute addition. He'd probably had a problem with Lana going to Clark's party without him. 

Don't trust my boyfriend with your girl, hey Whitney? Well I really don't think you have much to be worried about there anymore. 

I climb out of my car as Clark and his friends pile of Pete's. I close the door and lean back against it. I feel a twinge of sympathy for Clark as he unfolds himself from the back seat. I should have been here to drive him to and from dinner so that he didn't need to contort his body into Pete's tiny car. 

Clark glances at me and then speaks briefly to Pete and Chloe. Whatever he says Chloe doesn't like because she immediately shakes her head and protests. Clark is quick to reassure her. She looks towards me and then nods in agreement. The nod is as much for me as it is for Clark. I've been given permission to talk to Clark but if I do something to hurt him I'll be answering to her. She's quite protective of him and I suddenly wonder if there isn't something more there. My thoughts are interrupted as Clark approaches me. 

"What happened?" he asks as he reaches my side. I know Clark is trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible but I'm able to hear the hurt behind his few words. "I tried your cell but it was busy and then when I called your office, David said you were in a meeting and couldn't be disturbed." 

I watch as Clark's parents and friends go into the house before answering. I'm glad they've decided to allow Clark to deal with me alone because it will allow me to be straight forward with him. "My father," I tell him with a sigh, "he called just as I was leaving." 

"And you just had to take it?" Clark asks me. It almost sounds like he doesn't know whether to believe me or not. That's not good. 

"Yes, I did. He was insistent." 

"It's my birthday," Clark says forcefully. As if I really need to be reminded of that, Clark. 

"I know that, Gorgeous," I tell him softly and reach out to touch his cheek. "My father knows that too. This is how he is. I'm sorry, but I would like to be here to see your next birthday as well and that's not going to happen if I piss him off and he ships me off somewhere else," I explain to Clark. As far as I can tell my father has decided that if Clark keeps me in line then he will put up with the relationship. As soon as I start acting out he is sure to rethink the wisdom of letting this continue. 

"I thought this was over now," Clark says with a hint of whining in his voice. He sounds tired. He thinks that the obstacles will never end. 

"You're old enough to choose this now," I tell Clark with a nod. My hand moves down to rest on his shoulder. "But my father is a powerful man and there's other things he could do." 

"So we just decide not to let whatever he does come between us," he reasons. 

"And what if whatever he does isn't against us? What if he hurts your parents? Convinces the bank to foreclose on their mortgage or finds out that there's something wrong with your adoption? How would you feel then?" I ask Clark. He goes pale when I mention a possible problem with his adoption and I wonder if there really is something wrong there. If there is, I should know about it so that I can be prepared to deal with it if it comes up. 

"I'd still want to be with you," Clark insists almost immediately and takes a step towards me. I know that Clark wants to connect with me and reassure me that he will want to be with me no matter what. I need that just as much as he thinks I do, but I can't indulge myself in that yet and not here where anyone could look out the window and see us embracing. 

"Clark," I say seriously and press against his shoulder to keep him from coming closer. "Is there something wrong with your adoption?" 

"No," Clark says too sharply. His eyes slip from mine and I know there's something going on. 

"The truth, Clark," I say softly. I'm trying to make this as non-confrontational as possible since I know I have the best chance of getting the truth out of him that way. 

"I don't know," Clark says and turns back to look at me. The look I give him must tell him that I don't believe him because be quickly repeats himself. "I really don't," he insists. 

"But you think there might be?" I press. 

"Lex, please," Clark begs. "Don't make me talk about this." 

That's interesting. I wonder what exactly it is that makes him think there could be something wrong. I'll have to look into it a little deeper and see if there really is a problem. I'm not going to push anymore tonight though. It's his birthday and I want him to have a good evening. 

"Okay," I tell him with a nod. He looks relieved. "I really am sorry that I missed dinner though." 

"It's okay," Clark tells me, "but I missed you." 

"Yeah?" 

"Of course," Clark says with a smile. He looks towards the house suddenly and I follow his eyes. Clark's mother is standing at the door obviously waiting for us to come in and I'm glad that I didn't let him hug me earlier because I'm really not sure how long she's been there. 

"I guess it's time to go in," I say. 

Clark nods in response. I push off from my car and we head over to the house. Clark's mom goes back inside when she sees us coming. 

We enter through the front door. Clark's friends are already in the living room waiting for us. Lana and Whitney are sitting together on one end of the larger couch with Pete taking up the other end. Chloe is sitting on the floor on a large overstuffed cushion. Her legs are folded under her. It doesn't look comfortable but it must be because she looks happy enough to be there. The way they're sitting leaves the smaller couch for Clark and I. I can't imagine that means anything beside the fact that they knew we were outside and wanted to leave somewhere for us to sit. 

We sit down and Clark turns the television on to start the movie. Apparently it's a tradition with Clark's friends to watch their favorite movie on their birthday. I was surprised when Clark told me that his favorite movie was Star Wars. Maybe I should have guessed that given my young lover's fascination with space but I hadn't. It amuses me that the movie is older than anyone in the room. 

Chloe gets up and turns the lights off. Everyone starts watching the movie. About half an hour in my attention starts to wander. I've seen this movie several times and it's never been as interesting to me as it has been to the people I've watched it with. Besides, Clark's beside me and I will always find him more interesting than any movie. 

I remember telling Cassandra that Clark was a mystery. That's become even truer in the last few months. The closer we've become, the more pronounced the strangeness surrounding Clark has gotten. That incident a couple of weeks ago when he cracked his head against my table still bothers me. He should have been cut and bleeding on my floor but instead he had acted like it didn't even hurt him. Before that I had almost convinced myself to accept his story that I hadn't really hit him with my car but now I believe otherwise. I know I hit him, just like I know he banged his head and both times he should have been hurt but wasn't. 

And none of that takes into account the amazing strength that Clark seems to possess. It's true that I'm not really familiar with the details of farm life, but I don't think it's typical for any fifteen-year-old boy to be as strong as Clark seems to be. I really think that he somehow managed to pry the roof back on my car to pull me out. Not to mention that I've never yet been able to pull myself out of his arms. That worries me a little bit even though I trust him enough to know he would let go if I really wanted to be away. 

I wonder how Clark fits into all the other strangeness that seems to go on in Smallville. People taking on their pet's odd behaviors, shape changing into me or anyone else at will, or becoming human popsicles isn't exactly normal. No one seems to notice the weirdness though and that's part of the weirdness itself. Or if they do notice the weirdness, they blame it on Luthor Corp. I'm really not sure how they think a fertilizer company could cause all that mayhem. And if it were something in our effluent, don't they think the EPA would make us do something about it? The average citizen has no idea how much environmental testing a company like mine needs to go through on a regular basis. I have a good idea that all the strange incidents stem from the same meteor shower that took my hair and cured my asthma. It changed me. I can imagine that it might have changed those other kids as well. I would think that it changed Clark as well except that I know he was adopted after it happened. 

Clark must notice that I'm not watching the movie because he turns to look at me. He has questions and slight concern in his eyes. I smile reassuringly at him and reach out to run my index finger down the back of his hand that is lying on the couch between us. Clark smiles in response and shivers ever so slightly. I love that I can do that to him. I can't wait for this weekend when I'll finally get him alone to do all sorts of other things to him as well. 

It had taken some convincing and a lot of promises on my part but Clark's parents had eventually agreed to our trip to Metropolis this weekend. I had needed to promise to drive safely, behave myself and not take Clark anywhere dangerous. Later, Clark's father had called me and told me that if he found out drugs or alcohol were involved in any way he would personally see to it that I never saw Clark again. I almost told him that I didn't think that was possible, but I decided to play good and keep my mouth shut. It was likely the better plan in the end anyhow. I assured him that we wouldn't be doing anything like that. I don't know if he really believed me but he'd left it at that. In the end, I have no doubt in his ability to get the truth out of Clark. 

Clark and I are still looking at each other and Clark must suddenly realize how strange that would look if someone were watching us because he blushes slightly and turns back to the television. I squeeze his hand to tell him it's okay. No one was watching us; they're all engrossed in the movie. 

Eventually I turn back to the television to continue watching the movie as well. I wrap my fingers around Clark's and hold his hand for the rest of the movie. Our hands are between us and obscured from the view of the other's in the room. 

When the movie finishes, the rest of Clark's friends leave relatively quickly. It's later than they had expected and they need to get home. I linger somewhat longer. Nothing's waiting for me at home save my solitary bed. 

"Did you have a good time?" I ask Clark after everyone is gone and we're once again sitting side by side on the small couch. His parents have gone upstairs to bed after reminding Clark not to stay up too late. 

"Yeah," Clark says and snuggles into my side. He sounds happy and sleepy. It feels nice to be the one holding him for a change since he's usually the one holding me. I look around quickly just to confirm that we're still alone. 

"They won't come back down," Clark tells me. 

"Oh, okay," I say and wrap my arms around him. I don't doubt that Clark knows his parents well enough to predict their actions. "I really am sorry about earlier," I tell him again. I'm not sure why I feel like I have to apologize again, but I do. 

"I know," Clark says, "your father's a bastard. It's okay." 

He says it so simply, so casually, that I have to laugh. He's absolutely correct with that statement. 

"Well it's true," Clark says against my chest. 

"It is," I agree with a nod. 

Clark adjusts his position against me slightly so that he's lying on the couch with his head and shoulders in my lap. He closes his eyes with a sigh. After a minute, he starts making a soft humming noise deep in his throat that sounds happy and content. "I wish you didn't have to leave," he tells me softly. 

"Me too," I tell him, "but you know I have to go." 

"I know," he says with a sigh. "I can't wait for this weekend." 

"Me either," I tell him. It will be so nice just to have some time alone together without anything else demanding our time. 

"It will be nice." 

"Very nice," I tell him with a grin. I'm running my fingers through his hair and I can almost feel the blush rising on his skin. "Clark?" I ask him gently after a couple of minutes. 

"Yeah?" he murmurs. 

"I know we haven't talked about this, but we need to think about what we're going to be doing Saturday night so that we can be prepared." I hate doing this. In a perfect world, I would want everything to happen spontaneously between us, but this isn't a perfect world and Clark's young and inexperienced. I don't want to end up in the city having him feel like he has to go along with whatever I want just because he's my guest. This is about us, what we both want, and what he's ready to do. 

Clark opens his eyes and looks up at me. "You mean...?" 

I raise my eyebrow at his trailed off words. "Yes?" 

"In bed?" he finishes eventually. He sounds more serious than I thought he would and the blush I had expected is only faintly visible. This is good. He understands the importance of this conversation. 

"Yes," I say with a nod and an encouraging smile. 

"I thought you wanted to.... I mean you said before that you did. I just thought." 

Ah, Clark-speak. Aren't I glad I can understand what he means most of the time? "Wanted to fuck you?" I ask softly. I trust that Clark's parents aren't going to come down, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't hear us talking if we're too loud. 

"Yes," Clark confirms just as softly. I see a flash of uncertainty and something that looks just a little too close to fear on his face. I'm very glad I brought this up now. 

"Clark," I tell him and move the hand that's still in his hair in what I hope is a calming motion, "I do want to do that, but only when you're ready. I'm sorry if I worried you when I said it before. I was drunk and not really in control of what was coming out of my mouth." 

Clark closes his eyes when I start stroking his head. He listens to me talking with his eyes closed and then looks back up at me when I'm finished. His eyes no longer hold any trace of fear. That expression has been replaced by one of confusion. "I know. I just assumed." 

"I'm sorry I gave that impression, Gorgeous. This weekend is about what you want." I tell him seriously and we exchange a deep look. "Do you know what you want?" 

"Umm," Clark mumbles after a few minutes of thought, "you've done it before, right?" 

I almost laugh, but manage not to. "I've done a lot of things, Clark. You're going to have to be a little more specific than that," I say with a smile. 

"Been with a guy," Clark supplies. 

"Yes," I say hesitantly. We've pretty well established that fact before this so I'm a little confused about why he's asking me that. After a couple of seconds and the embarrassed look on Clark's face, it dawns on me what he's really asking me. "You mean have I been on the bottom?" 

"Yeah," Clark confirms with a slight nod. 

"Yes, I have." 

Clark thinks about that for a moment before continuing. "Did you like it?" 

"Yes," I tell him honestly. "It's different and not everyone does, but I did." 

I'm not going to mention right now that when I have done that in the past it's usually been as a way of manipulating others into doing what I wanted. It's amazing what men will tell their whores, even male ones and even when they know they're the sons of their father's enemy. I've collected a lot of good information that way. Father would be horrified to know that's how I got it. There are some things that Clark really doesn't need to know about my past. 

"Did it hurt?" he asks and immediately I think it's a strange question for him to be asking. I know he doesn't feel pain the same way most people do and I wonder what he thinks he has to worry about. It takes a moment but I eventually realize he's not asking for himself, he's asking for me because he doesn't want to hurt me. 

"The first time," I tell him with a nod. "And if it's been a while it can be uncomfortable. That's part of it, though. If it's really bad then someone's not doing something right." 

"And has it been a while?" 

"Yeah," I tell him and run my fingers down his cheek to touch his lips. It's been longer than I remember it being since I started doing it. My hand continues down his body and I lay my arm across his chest in a light embrace. "Is that what you want, Clark?" I ask him softly. "Do you want to fuck me?" 

Clark flushes slightly but manages to get it under control before he answers me. "Yes, I think so." 

"Okay," I tell him calmly. 

He looks up at me like he can't believe I agreed. How could he know that I've wanted this since the first night we spent together? "Thank you," he tells me softly. 

"It's my pleasure," I tell him with a smile and squeeze him gently. 

"I don't want to hurt you, though." 

"You won't," I assure him. "I'll show you what to do and there are things I can do to get myself ready." 

"Oh, okay," Clark says slowly, "As long as you're sure." 

"I'm sure," I tell him with a nod. 

"Cool," Clark murmurs and rolls over to snuggle into my lap again. 

I smile. Yes, very cool Clark. I move my hand back up to his head and run my fingers through his hair again. "Tired?" I ask him softly. 

"Yeah," he murmurs into my stomach. 

"Want to go up to bed?" I ask him. 

"No," he says sleepily. He sounds like a little kid up past his bedtime and I can't help but smile. 

"I think that maybe you should," I tell him with a laugh. 

"Uh uh," Clark mumbles and settles deeper into my lap. Apparently he's decided that he's going to fall asleep here tonight. That's okay with me. It feels wonderful having him snuggled into my lap. 

I continue to run my hands through Clark's hair. After a couple of minutes, Clark begins the soft humming again. It's an interesting noise and not one I ever expected him to make. It's nice though and I know it means that he's happy. Eventually the noise stops and I think he's fallen asleep. 

"Clark?" I ask him quietly. 

He doesn't respond and I realize that I'm right he has fallen asleep. I smile and continue running my fingers through his hair for a few minutes longer. I love the feeling of it against my skin, so soft and silky. It's been so long since I had hair myself that I barely remember what it felt like. 

After a few minutes, I ease myself out from underneath his body. He moans softly as I get up and then rolls into the back of the couch. There's a blanket on the back of the other couch and I grab it. I drape it over Clark to keep him warm. I walk around the room turning off the lights and then head over to the front door to let myself out. I look back at Clark one last time before leaving and see that he's sleeping peacefully. I smile at that and then leave quietly. 

* * *

I've never been overly impressed by the penthouse suite at Hotel Metropolis. It's elegant and impersonal in the same way that all the best hotels are. Everything is clean and neat and in its place but it has no personality. The furniture is functional and laid out in a way that best utilizes the size and shape of the room. The walls are decorated with expensive looking artwork that compliments the furniture. On the table in the living room there are flowers and large fruit basket, provided by the hotel. 

Clark seems to be thoroughly impressed though, if the way he's been moving from room to room checking everything out for the last ten minutes is any indication. He had first checked out both bedrooms and then the living room and kitchen. Now he is in the bathroom. He hadn't been able to believe the size of it when he first walked in there. It is larger than his bedroom at home, which, well honestly, isn't saying all that much. 

I use the time he spends exploring the suite to contemplate our day up until now. I had actually managed to leave the house this morning without being harassed by my father. That had surprised me since I know he must have been told I would be using the hotel suite this weekend and after his performance on Tuesday, I expected him to try something similar today. He hadn't though and, as much as I was glad I didn't have to deal with his shit this morning, this was almost worst. My father is rarely without a plan. When I can't predict his actions is when he is the most dangerous. It's possible that he's fucking with my mind by not doing anything and it's possible that he's just waiting until I'm off guard to make his next move to try and upset our relationship. I'll just have to wait and see and be as observant as possible. 

I left the house at nine to pick Clark up. He had come out of the front door as soon as I pulled up. I got out of the car and helped him load his bag into the trunk. Clark's dad had come to join us while we were doing that and had again insisted that I drive carefully and keep Clark safe. I think Clark had probably heard the same lecture from his father this morning before I'd shown up because he'd rolled his eyes at me when his father wasn't looking. I'd reassured Mr. Kent. He'd hugged Clark goodbye, told him to call when we got into town and then we'd left. 

It had taken just under two hours to drive into the city. We'd stopped for snacks on the way out of town and I'd convinced Clark to drive for a while. He was leery about driving my car. I think he's scared he will wreck it or something, which I think is overwhelmingly funny since I've wrecked more cars than his parents have probably ever owned. One more wouldn't be a great loss, but I can't imagine Clark ever being careless enough to do something like that anyhow. He's a much more cautious driver than I ever was. It was great. He'd loved the way the Porsche handled and the way driving it felt. Clark drove for an hour or so until we started hitting some of the heavier traffic leading into the city and he'd asked me to take over. 

When we entered town I'd brought us straight to the hotel. We'd checked in and come up to the room. Clark had been amazed at the way everyone did whatever we wanted and the respect they seemed to treat us with. Ah, what money and power can get you in this world. I throw around my father's name and suddenly everyone's my friend. He's with me and so he gets the same treatment. It's all horribly fake though. The power is nice. Exhilarating at times. But still I wish that people would see who I am and like me for my own merits. 

Clark comes out of the bathroom with a look of wonder on his face. "There's a Jacuzzi tub in there," he tells me like he's just discovered the most amazing thing on the face of the planet. I simply smile and nod at him. "It's huge," he continues and gestures with his hands to emphasize the size of the fixture, "you could fit four or five people in there." 

"I guess you could," I agree with a laugh. His happiness is infectious. "Don't know if you'd really want to try though, Clark," I say with a hint of suggestion in my tone. My eyebrow rises at the end of my comment making it into a teasing question. 

Clark smiles at that and blushes slightly at what I can only assume is the thought of what having all those people in the tub at the same time would mean. "No, probably not," he admits with a laugh. 

"You'd like to try it out while we're here, though?" 

"Yeah," he says enthusiastically and walks across the room to sit next to me on the couch. He settles down with his thigh pressing against mine and then lays his arm along the back of the couch. The action seems half casual and half possessive. It's nice. I like the feeling of belonging it generates in me. It feels like I'm right where I should be. I've never felt like that with anyone else in my life. 

"That can be arranged," I tell him and reach out to place my hand on his thigh. I can attest to how comfortable that tub is and it's lots of fun to play in. It will help relax both of us for what we'll be doing later on in the evening as well. "Tonight after the game?" I ask him. 

"Umm, okay," Clark says with a hint of disappointment in his voice. I can tell he was hoping to start playing now. 

I smile and turn to look directly at him. "Do you honestly think that if I get you in there that I will have enough willpower to get out and take you to the game?" 

"Maybe," Clark says uncertainly, "I don't know." 

I reach out and slip my hand under Clark's shirt to stroke his stomach. His muscles flutter under my fingers and Clark shivers. "I know," I tell him with a meaningful look. "Once I get you naked, you're staying that way for the rest of the evening." 

"Oh," Clark says breathlessly. It sounds like my words have really affected him. I look down at his lap and see that I'm right. Clark's hard. That's hardly surprising given that I'm rubbing his stomach. That seems to turn him on something crazy. 

I smile wickedly and lean over to kiss him. It's good to know I can do this to him. He opens his mouth under mine and our tongues touch. He moans and shivers at the contact. My hand travels down from his stomach to rest on his cock. I can feel its heat through the fabric of his pants. He gasps and pulls out of our kiss. I smile and look up at him. "You going to be okay, Gorgeous, or would you like me to take care of this before we go out for lunch?" I gently stroke him through his pants as I talk. 

"Uh," Clark mutters and closes his eyes. He bucks up towards my hand as I speak. 

That's close enough to yes for me. I smile broader and shift around so that I can slide down onto the floor in front of him. I gently push his legs apart and insert myself between them. His eyes are closed. They flutter open as I reach for the zipper of his pants. 

"Lex," he breathes. 

"Yes?" I ask him. I undo the button on his jeans and slowly pull down the zipper. 

"Yes," he says. 

I smile and wonder if he knows that he's not making a whole lot of sense right now. I gently tug at his pants and he understands that I want him to shift up so that I can pull them down slightly. Once I've loosened his pants enough, I reach in and gently pull out his hard cock, making sure that his underwear is covering the harsh metal zipper of his jeans. Wouldn't want to do anything that might cause him pain. Although he probably wouldn't feel the zipper even if I hadn't thoughtfully covered it up. I wonder what it is about his physiology that allows him to feel pleasure like anyone else but not pain. 

Clark gasps loudly and I realize I'm analyzing Clark's pain receptors when I should be concentrating on something entirely different. I shake my head slightly to clear it and then return to the task at hand. 

I curl my fingers around his thick cock and he gasps loudly. His skin feels so soft to the touch. I pull his foreskin back to feel the smooth skin on the head. I run my thumb over it and find that it's wet. Clark is leaking softly. I smile and bring my thumb up to my mouth to lick it off. Clark moans and I look up to see him watching me intently. 

I smile and look back down at his cock. He's leaking even more now and a small pearly drop runs down the length of his shaft. I lean down towards him and reach out with my tongue to capture the drop and lick it off. His cock jerks against my tongue and comes back to land against my cheek. It paints a short line of wet pre-come across my skin. 

Clark groans and reaches out to grasp my head. I can feel his fingers convulsively working against my skin and for the first time in ages in wish I had hair, just so Clark could have something to hold on to. "Oh god, Lex," Clark moans. His hands still on the back of his head and he pulls gently to draw me closer to him. "Please," he begs softly. He's gasping heavily and sounds like he's having difficulty breathing. 

"Of course," I tell him in a soothing tone and run one of my hands over his flank to calm him. I lean down, open my mouth wide and draw him inside. 

Clark cries out at the feeling of my mouth wrapped around his cock. I can feel him trying hard to restrain himself from bucking up into my mouth and am glad that he's finally mastered that skill. As much as I love doing this for him, I was getting a little tired of getting hit hard against the back of my throat every time I took him in my mouth. 

I run my tongue up and down his length and then around the base. I suck softly at first but then realize that he's unlikely to last long and start sucking harder. By now I have a fairly good idea of what Clark does and doesn't like. What he likes is a steady build up from slow and gentle to fast and intense. What he absolutely hated was the one time I tried to tease him. He'd actually pushed me off in order to get me to stop. He'd said it tickled so much he couldn't stand it. 

I continue to suck as I move my mouth up and down his length. I press my tongue against the large vein on the underside of his cock and trace it roughly. I'm almost surprised that is what brings Clark to the edge, but it is. I hear Clark gasp and feel his cock harden that slight bit extra that means he's about to come. I suck one last time and then swallow his cock, drawing him deep down my throat. 

Clark cries out and explodes into me. His hot come pulses strongly down my throat. When he's almost finished I pull back slightly so that he's again resting on my tongue and I can taste him. I love his flavor, sweet, fresh and new. 

"Lex," he sighs as I pull back. I carefully tuck him back into his pants and then move up his body to kiss him. He likes this too, always wants to taste himself in my mouth, and I'm more than happy to oblige him. 

He hums softly when I pull back from him and I can't help but smile. I wonder where that habit has come from all of the sudden. It's cute. I like it. "Better?" I ask Clark after a minute or so. 

"Mmm," Clark mumbles. "Yes." 

I smile happily and move back up onto the couch to sit next to Clark. I look over at him and see that he has his eyes closed and a slightly silly look of contentment on his face. I'm so glad that I was able to get us away from Smallville for a little while. 

I reach out to touch his face and Clark turns towards me. He opens his eyes and blinks once. "You ready to go out for lunch?" I ask him softly. 

"I..." Clark mumbles. He apparently snaps out of the haze in his brain then because he suddenly opens his eyes wider and sits up a little but. "Are you okay? Do you need me to help you?" Clark asks with a slightly embarrassed flush on his face. He gestures towards my groin and I know what he's talking about. 

I think about that for a moment and than shake my head. I am slightly hard, which is what I'm sure he's noticed, but not enough so that it's demanding. I'm a little surprised myself to find that I want to savor that feeling and wait until later for satisfaction. It's anticipation for tonight if nothing else. 

"You sure?" Clark asks me like he can't believe that I'm turning down his offer. 

"Yes," I tell him and lean over to kiss him. It's just a quick kiss, but it's enough to reassure him that nothing is wrong. 

I look down at my watch and am a little surprised to see that it's almost one. "You need to call your parents," I tell him with a smile and touch the tip of his nose, "and then we can leave." 

"Oh, yeah," Clark says and flushes. I can guess what he's thinking. He's wondering how he can speak to his mother right after I have just sucked him off. This should be interesting. 

I stand up and cross the room to the closet where we've left our coats. I pull my phone out of my left coat pocket and toss it across the room at him. He catches it with very little difficulty. "Speed dial one," I tell him. 

He smiles and raises his eyebrow at me. Yeah, you're first Clark, before my father, before my assistant, before anyone. Does that really surprise you? I just shrug in response. 

He presses the button and then waits for the phone to be answered on the other end. "Oh, hi Mom," he says after a couple of seconds. It didn't take her long to answer at all, almost like she's been sitting there waiting for his call. Maybe she has been. 

"Yeah, we got here okay," Clark assures his mother. "Of course Lex drove safe." Clark listens for some time then to whatever his mother is saying. "Yes. I'll call you tomorrow before we leave. Yes. I love you too, Mom. Bye." Clark blushes through the entire conversation and paces nervously. Luckily his voice remains relatively normal and he just sounds excited. If his mother could actually see him right now she would know something was up. She also, quite possibly, would be able to guess what was really going on. 

Clark turns off the phone and then walks over to where I'm standing. He hands the phone back to me. "Geez," he says softly, "that was just wrong. I can still feel your hands on me and I'm talking to my mother. Yuck." 

I smile and reach up to kiss him. "Just be happy I was over here and not actually touching you." 

"Yeah," Clark says and shudders. 

I place the phone back in my pocket "If we're going out for lunch, we should leave now." 

Clark nods and then walks with me over to the closet to retrieve his coat. I reach in, grab Clark's coat and pass it to him. He shrugs it on and then looks down at me expectantly. I reach into my pocket, palm my keys and toss them to Clark. He looks confused. 

"You're driving," I tell him with a grin. 

"But I don't know where we're going," he protests. 

"I'll give you directions," I say with a shrug. I know he's still worried about the car but I'm not. I still think Clark's a safer driver than I am. 

"Lex," Clark protests, "what if something happens?" 

"It won't. I trust you," I tell him simply. Mostly. I mostly trust him. Maybe not to tell me the truth, but definitely to keep me safe. I know Clark would do everything in his considerable power to keep me safe, no matter what. 

Clark looks down at the keys in his hand and then back up into my eyes. He's reading me to see if what I'm saying is the truth. "Okay," he says eventually. 

I nod. Good. I've never liked driving in the city anyhow. It's too much stop and go and you can't go at anything near a decent speed. There's also something strangely liberating about giving up this little piece of control to Clark, if only for a little while. 

* * *

The leery, discontented feeling starts deep in my stomach shortly after we leave the restaurant. It's telling me strongly that something isn't right, that something is going to go terribly wrong in the next few hours. It's so strong that I almost tell Clark to drive us back to the hotel so that we can hole up and be alone for the remainder of the day. I can't though. I'm a Luthor, we don't retreat, we meet adversity head on and fuck the consequences of that strategy. I think Clark can tell that I am off kilter because he keeps looking at me like he's worried that something is wrong. He doesn't say anything though; just lets me keep my own council on my feelings. I'm so thankful for his ability to know when not to demand things from me that I can't give. 

We arrive at the stadium and I direct Clark to the parking reserved for Luthor Corp. There's a security guard at the entrance and he stops Clark but flags us through when he sees that I'm with him. He even apologizes for the inconvenience. I don't think that Clark quite knows what to say because he looks surprised for a moment then tells the man that it was no trouble. Eventually we park and I'm able to get out of the car. 

The ground is solid under my feet and I sigh softly in relief. Solid ground feels so good right now. It steadies me and helps to settle the rolling in my stomach. It's been a long time since I've had this kind of apprehension and whenever I do it's never good. 

I must have stood here longer than I thought because suddenly I realize that Clark is standing next to me with his hand resting gently on my shoulder. "Are you okay, Lex?" he asks me. His voice is full of concern and caring. He makes me feel safe and it's his voice that drives out the last of the rolling in my stomach. Clark will keep me safe. 

"Yes, I'm fine," I tell him with certainty. 

I step away from the car and close the door behind me. Clark hands over my keys with a smile and I press the button that locks the car. Without thinking about it too much, I reach out and take Clark's hand. He seems slightly startled but doesn't pull back. I don't let go. We walk across the parking lot and towards the elevators hand in hand. I can see him grinning like an idiot beside me. I'm happy, he's happy, that's all that matters in this moment. 

It only takes seconds for the elevator to arrive after I push the call button. We climb in I press the button for level 4, which is where the box seating it located. Clark's hand is warm in mine and I squeeze it gently as the elevator moves upwards. He smiles at me and then leans down to kiss me gently. 

"Thank you for bringing me," he says as he pulls away from me. 

"I'm just glad your parents agreed," I tell him with a wry smile and he smiles back at me. 

The elevator stops moving and before the doors open Clark gently extracts his hand from my grip. We haven't talked about this, but he's probably right, it's best not to tempt fate as far as our relationship is concerned. I could know a lot of the people we will encounter this afternoon. Some of them will be more than happy to report back to my father about my indiscretions with Clark. I look up at Clark and nod. Once again he's thinking of my best interest before what he wants for himself. I wonder how he became so selfless. 

"Lex," someone calls to me almost immediately as we get off the elevator. I groan because I think I recognize the voice of Beth Moore, a rather annoying daughter of yet another business associate of my father. Her family is in the shipping and transport business and my father has a large contract with them to move our crap all over the country. The company is moderately sized, but not well enough managed to generate the kind of profits it could. Her father thinks the best way to grow his company is to merge it with another and there's no better way to do that then to get Beth married off to some rich heir and leave the company to the grandkid. So Beth is looking to 'marry up' as the saying goes and as such she often shows up at our social functions. I'm sure I'm somewhere near the top of her list of candidates. 

I stop moving and turn around to face her. She's wearing a light blue knee-length dress that's tight at the top and loose at the bottom. Her golden blonde hair is curling gently around her face. She's definitely a beautiful girl and at any other time I probably would have felt attracted to her, but now it all seems so fake. I know all the sweetness and light and beauty is just an artifice to attract the right sort of man and to keep him once he's caught. 

"Hello, Beth," I greet her as she moves up to stand next to me. 

"I haven't seen you at a game for ages, Lex," she says with a slight twittering laugh and a bat of her eyes that makes me want to laugh. I refrain though. I wonder when exactly was the last time that she had seen me at a game. I rarely come, basketball is not really my thing and when I have in the past it usually been at the demand of my father to entertain someone's kid. 

"No, I can't imagine that you have," I tell her with a distinct lack of interest in my voice. I hope that she'll get the idea and leave. 

Beth just smiles up at me. She reaches out and places one of her hands on my arm, the other flutters up to her mouth. She covers it as if she's going to tell me a secret and doesn't want anyone else to hear. "Is it true that your father sent you out to the middle of nowhere to run one of his plants?" 

I shrug and gently extract my arm from her grip. "I'm running the plant in Smallville, yes," I tell her. I decide that it's time to move the conversation along and then leave. She's starting to annoy me. I place my hand on Clark's shoulder and draw him forward. "This is my friend, Clark," I tell her. "Clark, Beth Moore, another friend." 

"Hello," Clark greets her with his sweet smile and reaches out to shake her hand. 

"Oh," Beth twitters some more and then reaches out to shake Clark's hand in greeting. "Do you have a last name, Clark?" she asks. I almost groan when I realize what she's playing at. She knows she'll never get me, so she's going to work on him for a bit. 

"Kent," Clark supplies without thinking. 

"Oh, I don't think I know that name. What does your family do, Clark?" Beth asks him with another annoying bat of her eyes. She's still holding Clark's hand. 

I clear my throat. "Clark's family is in agriculture," I tell Beth quickly and then turn to my lover. "Clark, I think it's time to go," I tell him seriously. I will Clark to understand my need to get away from Beth. He just looks at me with a vaguely irritated expression on his face and then nods. 

"Ah, Lex," Beth complains, "I'm just meeting your friend." She reaches out and wraps her arm around Clark's then turns her pouty eyes on him. She thinks she will be able to win him over with her wiles. I can't imagine that she will. 

"I know, Beth, but we need to meet up with some people. I don't want to keep them waiting," I tell her. I've stopped trying to be polite. She's pissing me off and the fact that she's touching Clark isn't helping my mood. I feel like staking a claim and dragging him away. 

"Why don't you go on, Lex? I'm sure that Clark can catch up to you later," Beth says and smiles broadly at Clark. 

Clark clears his throat and I can tell that he's uncomfortable. "I think I should probably go with Lex," Clark says. His voice is soft and when I look at him I'm not surprised to see that he's blushing gently. Clark's really not used to people finding him attractive and I have no idea why that is. All the girls in Smallville must be blind not to see his beauty. I'm not complaining about their lack on interest though. 

Beth pouts prettily at Clark and Clark manages to smile apologetically at her but still removes his arm from her vice-like grip. Good boy, Clark. Now if we can just get away from Beth without creating too much more of a scene. 

"Do you have to go?" 

I can't believe she's still trying. It should be obvious to her by now that I'm trying to get us both away from her. "I'm afraid so," I tell Beth firmly and take Clark's elbow to guide him down the hallway. 

"I'm sorry," Clark tells her politely before following me. 

Don't encourage her, Clark. That's all she needs to feel like she's been invited to worm her way into your attentions the next time we see her at some type of function. Not that she'd be too interested once she found out that Clark doesn't exactly measure up to her 'standards' of a suitable man. Maybe I should somehow let it get back to her who Clark is. I wonder who I can call to get that done. 

Clark none too gently pulls his elbow from my grasp as soon as we're out of Beth's sight. I snap out of my thoughts and turn to look at my young friend. Clark isn't happy; I know that right away. What I don't know is why he isn't happy. I raise an eyebrow at him in question. 

"You're embarrassed of my family," Clark accuses me. His voice is hushed. Apparently he doesn't want other people to know that we're arguing. That's probably for the best. 

"No," I say louder than I had intended. 

"Then what was that about? My family isn't in agriculture, Lex. We're farmers. I'm a farmer. You know soil, planting, harvesting, cows?" 

I sigh. Who knew Clark would be so touchy about this? "Clark, I just..." I sigh again. How do I do this without making him more upset? "Look, Beth is one of those people who is really conscious of class distinctions. I just... I just didn't want her to say something to you that would have made you feel badly." 

Clark looks at me like he hadn't considered that as a possible reason for my action. "I'm not ashamed of what my parents do," he tells me fervently. 

"I know." 

"And I think that I can deal with whatever might be said to me," he continues. 

"You don't know these people, Clark. They aren't like you." 

"I know. You keep reminding me." 

This is not getting any better. We're supposed to be here to have a good time, not to fight about stupid things like Beth and her idiotic quest for the perfect husband. "I didn't mean it like that, Clark, and you know it," I protest sharply and reach out to grab his arm again. He allows me to stop him and turns around to face me. 

"Then what did you mean?" 

"These are not nice people, Clark. They will do whatever they need to get what they want." 

"And what does Beth want?" 

"A husband. A rich husband." 

Clark pales a little bit. I think he maybe understands what is going on now. "I'm sixteen," Clark says with a little smile that makes me feel more relieved than I want to think about. 

"She's the same age as me," I tell him. 

"That's different," Clark tells me earnestly. 

"How?" I ask. I'm distinctly curious as to how he thinks about our age difference. We've never really talked about the implications of it other than the legal issues. 

Clark looks at me and opens his mouth to speak then seems to reconsider his words. Something flashes through his eyes but it's gone too quickly for me to register what it is. "You don't want to marry me," Clark says with a shrug and another laugh. It's supposed to be a joke. I don't know why it doesn't feel funny, but it doesn't. 

"No, I guess I don't," I say in response. 

We're just around the corner from where our box is located so I lead us the rest of the way there and we go inside. I spoke with stadium management earlier in the week and asked that they not assign any staff to our box so when we go inside no one is waiting for us. We're alone. I thought that would be best knowing how uncomfortable Clark is around my servants. He will need to get used to it eventually, if he plans on stayed with me, since I have no intention of giving up my help permanently. I'm willing to give him some time though and being alone with Clark is definitely no hardship. 

We sit down in the plush seats of the box. Clark leans over and kisses me. His tongue slides into my mouth and runs over top of my own tongue. I return his kiss and the tongue caress. He moans softly and reaches out to slide his hand up under my shirt. Oh, that's so tempting, but I really do want to watch the game with him and I'm still worried about the bad feeling I had earlier. 

"Not now, Gorgeous," I tell him and push him away gently. 

"Why not?" Clark pouts. 

"Because we're here to watch the game, not make out. That's what the hotel room is for tonight," I tell him with a smile. 

Clark studies me, but eventually nods his acceptance. "Okay," he tells me. I can tell he's disappointed that he has to wait. I silently promise to make his patience worthwhile. 

Before the game starts, I get up and grab us a couple of drinks from the small fridge behind the bar. I told the stadium staff to leave water for me and coke for Clark. The water isn't my usual brand, it's some domestic crap, but it's good enough for now. I'm not going to make a scene about it, not with Clark here anyhow. I'll call them on Monday. I pick up a bottle of water and a can of coke for Clark and then head back to my seat. 

The game is predictable but Clark seems to enjoy it nonetheless. Metropolis has been having a great season and is definitely the favorite. Half way through the game it's pretty obvious that our team is going to win by a fairly large margin and they don't disappoint the fans. Clark watches the game and I watch Clark and the game, alternatively. If I need to pick which one is more interesting, it would definitely be him. 

The game ends and nothing happens. My feeling of dread doesn't seem to have come to fruition. I'm not sure if that comforts or terrifies me. I've never been wrong before when I've gotten that feeling. All I can think is that something has happened that I haven't noticed. 

* * *

We arrive back at the hotel just after six. Clark and I are walking close together, closer than is strictly proper, but not so close that it can't be explained away as the actions of good friends if it needs to be. Our fingers brush together as we walk. We walk past the front desk and head towards the elevator that will take us up to our rooms. 

"Mr. Luthor?" one of the desk employees calls after me and I turn to see what he wants. 

"Yes?" 

"Someone dropped this off earlier, they said it was urgent," the man says. He reaches down and pulls a large manila envelope from behind the desk. 

I nod and walk over to take it from him. "Thank you," I say. I can't imagine what it is. No one except my father, my assistant David and Clark's parents know that I'm here. 

"What is it?" Clark asks me as we walk over to the elevator. 

I press the call button and then look down at the envelope in my hands. I turn it over a couple times. There's nothing written on it. It's thin and feels like it has only a couple of pieces of paper in it. 

"I'm not sure," I tell him with a shrug. 

The elevator car arrives almost immediately and Clark and I step in. We're joined in the car by a young couple and an elderly gentleman. We stand at the back since all of them will be getting off before us. They politely ignore our conversation. 

"Business?" Clark asks. 

"Maybe. But whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow. I'm busy tonight," I tell him with a smile. My voice is perhaps a little more suggestive than I intended because the young woman turns to look speculatively at us. I catch her eye, but she just smiles softly and turns away. 

The elevator stops on the fourth floor and the old man gets out. The doors close and we continue our climb towards our penthouse. 

"I thought that desk guy said it was urgent," Clark points out. 

I smile coolly. "It's probably from my father. He thinks everything is more important than it really is. Remember what I told you the other day about how he is? I don't want to get stuck playing his games tonight." 

"Oh," Clark says and nods. I refuse to play. Clark and I deserve tonight. My father has no right to take it away. 

The young couple gets out of the elevator on nine and then Clark and I are alone in the car. I reach over and take his hand, then draw him towards me. I thread my fingers through his thick hair and kiss him deeply, my tongue dipping into his mouth. "Besides," I say as I pull away and start to nuzzle his neck, "I believe we have an appointment with that bathtub you liked so much." 

"Oh yeah," Clark moans and bucks against me. I can feel his long cock pressing into my leg. Again it amazes me that he can get so hard so quickly. "I almost forgot." 

I laugh softly. I don't know how. I've been thinking about wet, naked Clark all afternoon. My hand is still in his hair and I run my fingers through the silky strands. Clark moans happily and leans into the caress. I smile and kiss him softly. He's so beautiful. 

The elevator stops and the door opens. We've reached our floor. I kiss Clark one more time and then step out into the hallway. He follows me. We laugh as we rush down the short hallway to the door of our suite. I pull the keycard out of my pocket and run it through the lock. The door opens and we tumble inside. I toss the envelope on the small table by the door and then start pulling at Clark's clothing. 

I get the zipper of Clark's jacket open without too much difficulty and push the heavy fabric down off his shoulders. He shrugs out of it and then starts his own work on the buttons of my jacket. While he's working on that, I run my hands down his cloth-covered chest. My hands travel underneath the bottom of his sweater and I tug harshly at the t-shirt he's wearing under it. Clark eventually finishes with the buttons on my jacket, maybe I should have undone them myself, and I pull back slightly so that I can shrug out it. It falls in a heap on the floor next to Clark's. 

I lean forward and up and lock my mouth onto his. My hands return to the task of pulling his shirt from his pants. He starts the job of undoing the buttons of my dress shirt. After what feels like forever, I get his shirt pulled from his jeans and my fingers finally encounter his smooth, soft skin. I groan into his mouth as I run my fingers over the hard muscles of his abdomen. 

"Damn," Clark mutters against my mouth and I look down to see that he's pulled one of the buttons off my shirt. Oh well, nothing that can't be fixed or replaced. 

"It's okay," I whisper and then place my mouth back over his. I reach down and undo the buttons myself. My fingers work deftly and I quickly get them all open. I pull back slightly, but don't break contact with his mouth, and slip out of the shirt. I still have another shirt on underneath. It's a long sleeved t-shirt. I'm not quite ready yet to break contact with him so that I can take it off. 

I continue to kiss Clark deeply. My tongue slides into his mouth, runs over his teeth and then rubs softly against the top of his mouth. Clark groans and thrusts against me. His arms tighten around me, he pulls me close and suddenly he takes control of the kiss. His tongue plunges deeply into my mouth and duels with mine. His lips work hard against mine and I know they'll be bruised come morning. 

Clark's the one who breaks the kiss. He pulls away from me and looks around frantically. "I need... I need..." he mutters. He doesn't know what he needs. 

"It's okay, Clark," I tell him gently and place my hand on his arm to try and calm him. I don't know why, but I didn't expect him to become this aroused this quickly. "Breathe," I tell him and he does. He breathes in deeply and then exhales. It seems to calm him enough to get back in control. 

I smile and push him backwards, moving us both towards the bathroom and the tub. I pull off my shirt as we move and Clark seems to get the idea because he pulls off both his sweater and his t-shirt in one tug. Our clothing falls on the floor, making a small trail from the door to the bathroom. 

We enter the bathroom and I turn the lights on. They're on a dimmer and I turn them up about half way, enough so that I can see what I'm doing, but low enough to add a hint of romance to the whole thing. "Sit down," I suggest to Clark and gesture to the small bench located next to the tub. He sits and watches me as I perch on the side and turn on the water. 

I run the water until it's just the right temperature and then place the plug in the drain and let it fill. There's a little tray sitting on the side with shampoos, conditioners, lotions and such. A couple of the little plastic bottles contain bubble bath. I turn to look back at Clark and find him watching me intently. I smile and he blushes slightly. 

"Bubbles?" I ask him and hold up one of the plastic bottles as an example. 

He smiles and nods eagerly. He looks too much like a little boy with that expression on his face and I have to look away just for a minute to remind myself that he's definitely old enough to be here. "Strawberry or peach?" I ask him after reading the labels off the bottles. 

"Strawberry," Clark says softly. It almost sounds like the words are stuck in his throat and I assume that he's so turned on that he can barely speak. 

I nod and pour the soapy liquid into the water under the tap. The bubbles start forming almost immediately and a rich strawberry smell fills the air. I turn to look back at Clark. 

"Come here," I tell him. 

He nods and then stands up and walks over to me. He stands in front of me and looks down with a hint of shyness on his face. It shocks me that he can still look like a little boy after all this time. He's anything but innocent. 

I reach out and run my fingers over his stomach. His muscles flutter under my touch. I love that feeling. I lean forward and lay my lips on his skin. I lick gently at his stomach. His skin is slightly salty. I run my tongue across his stomach and around his belly button. Clark groans loudly and moves slightly closer to me. I smile against his stomach. I continue to circle his belly button with my tongue and eventually slip it inside. The little hole tastes intensely like Clark and I can't help but moan my pleasure. 

I move my tongue in and out of his belly button, fucking it gently. Clark grabs onto my shoulders to stabilize himself and then starts to thrust gently against me. I reach up and gently stroke his cock through his pants and he cries out my name. I smile and pull back. I reach around me and turn off the water filling the tub so that it doesn't overflow before we're ready to get in. 

"Let's get you out of these, hey?" I ask him and begin undoing his belt. 

Clark just hums his approval and makes no move to stop me. Ah, he's gone non-verbal already. I can expect just grunts and moans from him until after he comes. I plan on getting him off before we get in the tub so that we can make the experience last longer than a few minutes. 

I open his pants and then push them down his long legs. I reach out and gently run one finger down the length of his erection that's still bound by his underwear. He shudders and groans. I smile and finally hook my fingers under the waistband and draw down his briefs. His cock jumps free and bumps me on the cheek. He's so hot. Clark steps back for a moment, kicks off his pants and briefs and reaches down to pull off his socks. When he's done, I place my hands on either side of his hips and draw him back towards me. 

I reach out with my tongue and lick along his length. He moans and pushes closer to me. I hold him tightly and the pressure on his hips reminds him not to thrust too hard. My hands slide around his body to rest on his back just above his ass, my thumbs stay hooked on his hipbones. I open my mouth and draw him deep inside. He gasps and his hands move from my shoulders to the top of my head. They grip compulsively on my scalp before settling, one on the top and one at the back. 

I run my tongue up and down his length and suck gently. He's moaning loudly and his hands are gripping my head a little harder than is actually comfortable. I know that he's close. I release my hold on him just a little and he knows that's the signal that he can start thrusting into my mouth. Clark rocks gently in and out of my mouth. I flick my tongue against the head of his cock on the outstroke and he cries out. His cry makes my cock jump and I realize for the first time how hard I am. 

I remove one of my hands from his back and reach down to touch my own cock. I moan as my fingers run along my length and Clark shudders again. God, I think that I'm just as close as he is. How didn't I notice that until now? I deftly undo my pants and reach in to pull my cock out. I wrap my fingers around myself and begin pumping up and down in time to Clark's thrusts into my mouth. God, this is good. 

I moan again and that's it. Clark's over the edge, crying out my name and spilling his hot come into my mouth. I close my eyes, trying to keep control just a little bit longer, but it doesn't work. I come right after him, crying out almost as loudly as he did. My come flows over my hand and down onto the floor. Most of Clark's come slides down my throat but some leaks out of my mouth. I wasn't able to swallow all of it before crying out. 

I look up at him and see his eyes on my face. Clark smiles, pulls his softening cock from my mouth and kneels down next to me on the floor. "Thank you," he says softly then leans in and licks my face gently before kissing me deeply. 

"You're definitely welcome," I tell him after he finishes tasting my mouth and pulls back. 

Clark smiles and then reaches down to pull the rest of my clothing off. I let him undress me without protest. I always like it when he decides to take the initiative. He's doing it a lot more lately now that he has an idea of what I like. When we're both naked, we stand up and climb into the warm water together. 

Clark sits back against the wall of the tub and pulls me over to sit in front of him and between his legs. We're both feeling pretty relaxed and the warm water feels great against my skin. I sigh happily and lean back into his strong chest. His arms come to wrap around me and he starts his humming noise again. 

"Don't fall asleep," I tell him gently and run my fingers down his wet chest. I curl around slowly so that I'm leaning against him sideways. I pick up a handful of bubbles and start to draw swirls on his chest. 

Clark laughs softly. "I think you're underestimating the effect you have on me, Lex, if you think I'm falling asleep anytime soon." He gently bucks up and presses his hips into my side. I can feel his semi-hard cock digging into my hip. 

I smile. "Good. I wouldn't want to be losing my touch." 

"Nope." 

Clark reaches out and grabs one of the washcloths off the side of the tub. I'm not sure what he's planning on doing with it, but then he places it in the water, brings it up and starts washing my back. It's surprisingly nice. Comforting and intimate in a way that I don't think I ever have been with any partner in the past. "Is this okay?" he asks softly as he continues washing and moves the cloth around to my front. 

"Very much so," I tell him. My hand is still on his chest tracing through the suds I've placed there. 

He continues to wash me and I relax even more against his chest. I'm not sure when or why I allowed him to take over this little seduction, but I don't seem to care. I feel safe, cared for and loved. He loves me. I know that and that's why it's okay to be this vulnerable with him. Maybe, just maybe, he can teach me enough about love to allow me to love him back. God, would that be a feat or what? 

Eventually he's finished. I'm all clean, all the way down to the bottoms of my feet. He wrings out the cloth and places it back on the side of the tub. I reach up and kiss him softly. We cuddle together in the water for a while longer. When my hands start shriveling up and the water turns cold, I know it's time to get out. I tell Clark so and he agrees. We climb out together and I drain the water. 

I grab one of the fluffy white towels provided by the hotel and start drying Clark off. He gets the idea and starts doing the same to me with his own towel. That's all it takes to take the two of us from lazily content to incredibly horny again. Clark's cock is hard and completely erect. I'm not far behind him in that department. 

"Insatiable," I say softly as I draw the soft towel across his chest one more time. 

He laughs slightly and just drops his eyes to look down at me. I follow his gaze. I'm about halfway to being fully erect. I just shrug and smile cheekily. 

Clark drops his towel and runs his fingers down my arm. "Your skin is so smooth," he tells me like he's just discovering it for the first time. It's one of the few benefits of not having any hair; my skin feels like a newborn's. He leans down to drop a kiss on my mouth. I have a feeling that he intended the kiss to be gentle, but it quickly becomes demanding. Our bodies rub together and our cocks meet. We both gasp. 

"Bedroom," I say sharply and Clark nods his agreement. 

We cross the living room and head straight to the bedroom. He enters before me. I follow and close the door behind us. When I turn to look at him, he's sitting on the edge of the bed. He manages to look both excited and nervous at the same time. I know we both have expectations of this evening and most of them center on this room. It's normal for him to feel nervous, but the excitement in his eyes lets me know that he's still ready to go ahead with what we had planned. 

I move to stand beside him and gesture for him to stand up. He does and I pull back the covers on the bed. Having sex on top of a comforter has never been something I particularly enjoy. Besides, I know how soft the sheets will be on this bed and I would much prefer that feeling against my skin. Once the sheets are turned down, I roll us both onto the bed. 

We end up in the middle of the bed. We're both laughing softly and Clark's on top of me. His cock is digging into my stomach. It's almost painful, but not in an all-together bad way. I decide to leave it for now. Clark leans down and kisses me, his tongue sliding into my mouth. We kiss for several long moments. Eventually I roll us over so that we're lying side to side. 

"Do you still want to fuck me, Clark?" I murmur into his ear. 

He shudders in what I can only assume is anticipation and nods. 

"Tell me, Clark," I prod him. I need to hear the words. This is a big step and the same way I needed to confirm consent with him the first time we had sex, I need to confirm it now. I don't want him feeling coerced into this and then regretting it later. Besides, I know that hearing the words will turn me on. 

"Yes," he breathes. 

"Say it," I encourage. 

Clark looks away from me. He's silent for a long moment before looking back at me and meeting my eyes. "I want to fuck you," Clark tells me softly but with absolute certainty behind the words. It's damned sexy. 

I smile and nod at him. "Of course, Clark," I say. 

I roll over to the night table beside the bed and pull open the top drawer. I asked the hotel to make sure that there would be supplies in that drawer and I find that they haven't disappointed me. I pull out the small bottle of lube that's been left there and pass it over to Clark. He blushes slightly, but accepts it without comment. 

"Do you want a condom?" I ask him. 

He seems a little startled by my question. "I thought..." he says and then trails off before he can finish his thought. 

I have a good idea of what he's thinking though. We've talked about this before. I know that he's clean, he's never been with anyone before me, and although I thought I was too, I had made sure I was tested as soon as we started our relationship. So, we knew we were both clean and we had decided together to forego condoms when we sucked each other off. There are other concerns with anal sex, though, and if Clark wants to use a condom I don't really have any problems with that. 

"You decided that you didn't want me to wear a condom when I was in your mouth, and you know I was happy about that, but this is different. Sometimes sex this way can get messy and some people like using condoms to avoid the mess." I explain to him. 

"Oh," Clark says. He sounds thoughtful. I let him think about that for a few minutes. He needs to make the decision that is right for him here. "What do you do?" he asks me eventually. 

I shake my head and smile softly at him. "You need to decide for yourself then I will tell you what I decided for myself." 

Clark doesn't look too happy about that but he nods. "I don't think I want to," he tells me after another minute. 

"Are you sure?" I ask him seriously. 

"Yes, I'm sure," he tells me. He sounds much more confidant this time. "I don't want to wear a condom." 

"Okay," say with a nod and a smile and then reach over to push the drawer closed. That done, I roll back up onto my side to press my chest against his again. 

"Are you going to tell me now?" 

"Yes," I tell him. "Usually I do, but with you, when you're ready, I think no." I tap him on the nose and lean in to kiss him. When I pull back, he's smiling broadly. My answer has made him happy, made him feel special. He is and he should feel it. 

I roll over onto my back and then look up at him. "You ready?" I ask him and tap the small bottle that he's holding in his right hand. 

Clark smiles shyly and nods. I return his smile and then spread my legs so that he can come and kneel between them. He climbs over my leg and settles on the mattress between my knees. I suspect he has a good idea of what to do, Clark's a smart kid and I know he has internet access at home, he must have thought about this before now, so I don't offer any suggestions as to what to do. 

"Shouldn't you be on your stomach?" Clark asks me softly. 

"I want to see you," I tell him. "Don't worry. It will be okay." 

Clark nods and then flips open the top of the bottle in his hand. He's shaking a little and too much of the viscous liquid squirts out onto his fingers. I move one of my feet to caress his side gently and he looks down into my eyes. "It's okay," I tell him. I grab a Kleenex from the bedside table and hand it to him and then reach out to take the bottle from him. He passes it to me and wipes off his hand. When he's done, he drops the Kleenex onto the floor beside the bed. I gesture for him to hold his hand out and then I squeeze the correct amount of lube into his palm. 

"Thank you," he whispers. 

I just nod and then lay back down into the pillows. It was no big deal and the problem was easily remedied, he shouldn't be embarrassed although I know that he probably is. I pull my knees up to give him better access and then feel a tentative finger touch me just behind my balls. 

Clark runs his finger slowly down from my balls to the small pucker that marks the entrance into my body. He touches me gently there like he's afraid that he will hurt me. I thrust up against his finger and it just barely slips into my body. I hiss and shiver and the sensation. Clark pulls his hand away quickly. 

"Did I hurt you?" he asks with a shaky voice. 

"No," I tell him. I hear my voice break. "Don't stop." 

Clark smiles then. He understands that I like what he was doing. He reaches back down to touch me again. This time he's not afraid of hurting me. He runs his finger in a small circle around my entrance and then gently slips his finger inside. I groan and arch into his hand. Clark slides his finger in deeper. He starts moving it around slowly and then gently massages me inside for a few moments. Eventually he pulls his finger out gently and returns with a second. His fingers are large and two of them feel a lot like three of anyone else's. I feel full and it feels so good. 

That's when Clark hits my prostate and I buck up against him. I cry out his name and close my eyes as the waves of pleasure run through my body. It's never been quite like that before. When I open my eyes again and look at Clark, I see him smiling at me and looking quite pleased with himself. 

Clark continues to move his fingers in and out of me for a couple more minutes before looking up at me for direction. He wants to know if I'm ready for him. Anyone else and I probably would be, but Clark's a big guy and his cock's the same way. "Three," I tell him with an encouraging nod. 

Clark nods his understanding, draws his fingers out and then slowly returns with three. It hurts. I hiss and he can tell that it's not in pleasure this time. He stops moving, but doesn't pull out. Our eyes meet and I hold his to let him know that he's doing the right thing. I adjust my body around him and eventually feel myself relaxing. When I'm ready, I nod for him to continue. He pushes further up into my body and although it's not exactly comfortable, it doesn't hurt anymore. He moves his fingers in and out of my body until I'm relaxed and loose enough. 

"I'm ready," I tell him when I am. He holds my eyes for a long minute and then nods slowly. His fingers slip from my body. 

I pick up the little bottle of lube again and Clark holds his hand out to me. I squeeze a moderate amount out into his palm and smile broadly at him. He reaches down and applies the gel to his cock. 

When he's done, he scoots up closer to me. I raise my legs and hook them over his shoulders. He's taller than me and it's almost uncomfortable, but it's okay. The head of his cock bumps up against me and I gasp. He's so hot and I'm so ready. Clark smiles down at me, guides his cock to my opening and slides in with one smooth motion. I cry out in pleasure and Clark laughs happily in response to my reaction. 

He starts moving slowly and gradually builds up to a faster pace. It feels so good. I don't remember ever feeling quite this close to anyone ever before in my life. It's like we're one person, two souls in one body. I almost think I can feel what he's feeling, even though I know that's impossible. This is what I've been missing all this time, what people say about sex that I've never been able to understand. I think maybe... I think maybe this is what love is. Oh god. 

Clark cries out and the sound snaps me out of my reflections. He's really pounding into me now. I look up and see that his eyes are closed and he looks like he's concentrating hard. He's close. I'm close. 

I flex my muscles around him slightly. His eyes fly open. "Shit, Lex," he cries and thrusts into me one last time. I grin as he explodes deep inside me. The feeling of his hot come inside me is like nothing else and I follow him right over the edge. 

After a couple of minutes, Clark slides out of me and crawls up my body. He latches his mouth onto mine and kisses me deeply. It's like he's frantic to taste me. I return his kiss with the same intensity. We moan into each other's mouths. Eventually I roll us over so that I can cuddle with him without feeling like his large body is crushing me. We kiss for long moment, our hands running over each other. I'm not sure how much time passes. 

Eventually we pull away from each other. My mind hasn't quite caught up with my body yet, and I open my mouth and the last thing I ever expected comes tumbling out. "I think that maybe I love you, Clark," I whisper into his neck. 

He wraps his arms tightly around me and I don't even have time to be mortified before he's returning my words. "I love you too, Lex," he tells me. 

I can't believe I said it. I don't know if I'll be able to live up to it and the words scare me more than I want to admit. I can't say that I regret it, though, because I don't. In a way, I'm glad that it's out there between us. 

Clark just holds me tightly to him. I close my eyes and feel myself drifting off into sleep. It feels so good to be sleeping in the arms of someone I really care about. 

* * *

It isn't until the next morning right before we leave the hotel room that I remember about the envelope the desk clerk gave me the night before. Our bags are packed and I'm bringing them to set them next to the door so they'll be ready to go when we are. Clark's in the living room calling his parents to let them know we're leaving and that he'll be home in a few hours. I spot the envelope on the table and pick it up. I slit it open and reach in the draw out the papers inside. The top paper feels like a picture and I pull it out just in time to hear Clark's cry from the living room. 

"What?" he shouts, presumably into the phone. 

I look down at the picture and my heart stops. It's a picture of Clark and I at the game yesterday. We're kissing and his hand is inside my shirt. Fuck, I knew my feeling hadn't been wrong. The picture drops to the floor and I dash back into the living room. 

-end-  
02/02/02 


End file.
